Machine-readable finding aid created by Stephanie Call as MS Word document, April 2012. Finding aid was encoded by Christine McEvilly on April 17, 2012. Description is in English.

Rabbi Maurice L. Zigmond, or “Ziggy” as he was known to friends and colleagues, was born in Denver, Colorado on March 5, 1904. Rabbi Zigmond taught Anthropology at Yale from 1948-1961, but he began his career as a counselor for Jewish college students in 1935, and was a staunch advocate of Hillel establishing and directing several Hillels throughout his professional career. In 1941, he established the Hillel Foundations at both Yale and the University of Connecticut, and from 1955-1956 he served as the Director of the B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundation at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. From 1947-1968 he was the Hillel Director at Harvard and Radcliffe, and in 1950-1969, he was the New England Regional Director of B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundations. This collection contains correspondence, program and financial reports, and information pertaining to the activities of a variety of organizations and Hillel foundations. The bulk of the material reflects Rabbi Zigmond’s tenure as the Hillel Director at Harvard and Radcliffe (1947-1969) and the New England Regional Director of the B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundations (1950-1969).

Rabbi Maurice L. Zigmond, or “Ziggy” as he was known to friends and colleagues, was born in Denver, Colorado on March 5, 1904. His parents, Joseph and Esther Zigmond, were Hungarian immigrants. In addition to Maurice, they had a daughter, Helen, and another son, Isador Jerome.

Rabbi Zigmond graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1925 and went on to study at Hebrew Union College, where he was ordained as a Rabbi in 1929. In 1941, he earned his Ph.D. in Anthropology from Yale University, and later received an honorary D.D. (Doctor of Divinity) from Hebrew Union College. In addition, he was a member of both Phi Beta Kappa (an honorary scholastic society) and Sigma Xi (an honorary scientific society), and was a Fellow of the American Anthropological Association.

Although Rabbi Zigmond taught Anthropology at Yale from 1948-1961, he began his career as a counselor for Jewish college students in 1935, eventually establishing and directing several Hillels throughout his professional career. In 1941, he created the Hillel Foundations at both Yale and the University of Connecticut. From 1947-1968 he was the Hillel Director at Harvard and Radcliffe, and from 1950-1969, he was the New England Regional Director of B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundations. In 1955, for one year, he served as the Director of the B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundation at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Rabbi Zigmond was also a member of the Central Conference of American Rabbis and its Editorial Board; the Book Committee of the General Theological Library in Boston, Massachusetts; the Civic Unity Committee of Cambridge, Massachusetts; and the Regional Board of the World University Service.

In 1940 he married Kate (Levy); they had two sons. Rabbi Zigmond died at the age of 94 on June 12, 1998 in Belmont, Massachusetts.

Chronology

March 5, 1904

Born in Denver, Colorado.

1925

Received B.A. degree from the University of Cincinnati.

1929

Ordained as a Rabbi from Hebrew Union College.

1935

Began counseling career with Jewish college students.

1940

Married Kate Levy.

1941

Received Ph.D. from Yale University.

Established Hillel Foundations at Yale and the University of Connecticut.

1947-1968

Director of the New England Hillel, Harvard and Radcliffe.

1948-1961

Lecturer in Anthropology, Yale University.

1950-1969

New England Regional Director, B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundations.

1955-1956

Director of the B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundation at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

1957

Received Honorary D.D. (Doctor of Divinity) from Hebrew Union College.

This collection contains correspondence, program and financial reports, and information pertaining to the activities of a variety of organizations and Hillel foundations. The bulk of the material reflects Rabbi Zigmond’s tenure as the Hillel Director at Harvard and Radcliffe (1947-1969) and the New England Regional Director of the B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundations (1950-1969).

Access Restrictions

The collection is open to all researchers by permission of the Director of Collections and Engagement of the American Jewish Historical Society,
except items that are restricted due to their fragility.

Use Restrictions

Information concerning the literary rights may be obtained from the Director of Library and Archives of the American Jewish Historical Society. Users must apply in writing for permission to quote, reproduce or otherwise publish manuscript materials found in this collection. For more information contact:
American Jewish Historical Society, Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY, 10011email:
reference@ajhs.org

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by organization.

Scope and Content:

This series contains memos and directives from the National Hillel office, and publicity materials of activities at the Harvard-Radcliffe Hillel, New England Regional Hillel, and other Hillel foundations in the United States. Colleges and universities represented include Simmons, Yale, MIT, Lesley, Princeton, Mount Holyoke, Bates, Bowdoin, Smith and Brown, among others. In addition, there are materials pertaining to a variety of Jewish organizations, including the Associated Synagogues of Greater Boston, Combined Jewish Appeal, American Zionist Council, and the Central Conference of American Rabbis.

Box

Folder

Title

Date

Request

1

2

American Council for Judaism

1958

1

3

American-Israel Cultural Foundation

1962

1

4

American Zionist Council

1948, 1957

1

5

Anna Rosenbaum Trust Fund

1954

1

6

Associated Synagogues of Greater Boston

1957-1964

1

7-8

B’nai B’rith

1946-1964

1

9

B’nai B’rith Hillel

1945-1962

1

10

Boston University

1946-1963

1

11

Brandeis University

1949-1961

Box

Folder

Title

Date

Request

2

1

Brooklyn College

1951

2

2

Brown University

1959-1961

2

3

Central Conference of American Rabbis

1951-1964

2

4

Combined Jewish Appeal

1954-1959

2

5

Connecticut College for Women

1964

2

6

Eastern New England Conference of Liberal Rabbis

1953-1954

2

7

Friends of Harvard Hillel (Meyer Dana)

1948-1958

2

8

Greater Boston Hillels

1952-1957

2

9

Harvard, Radcliffe, Lesley Colleges

1946-1964

2

10

Harvard, Radcliffe, Lesley, MIT- Constitutions

1949

2

11

Harvard University

1950-1963

2

12

Harvard-Yale-Princeton Colloquium

1950-1961

2

13

Hebrew Teachers College of Boston

1953-1954

Box

Folder

Title

Date

Request

3

1

Hebrew Union College

1946-1947

3

2

Hebrew University Hillel

1946-1957

3

3

Hillel Foundation of Cambridge

1955

3

4

Hobart and William Smith College

1954

3

5

Intercollegiate Zionist Federation of America

1947-1951

3

6

Jewish Community Council of Boston

1955-1957

3

7

Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation

1946, 1962

3

8

Jewish Theological Seminary

1953-1955

3

9

Lesley College

1946

3

10

Los Angeles Hillel Council

1948-1954

3

11

Lowell Theological Institute

1951-1954

3

12

Maine (includes Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, University of Maine, and State of Maine B’nai B’rith Council)

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by correspondent.

Scope and Content:

This series contains correspondence between Rabbi Zigmond and others, including Mordecai Kaplan, Philip Lown, Judah Shapiro, and Abraham Sachar. The correspondence file for Robert Oppenheimer contains a letter from Oppenheimer to David Lieber, expressing regret at having to decline a speaking engagement at Princeton University.

Scope and Content:

One folder contains a scrapbook of clippings relating to the activities of the Simmons-Tufts Hillel. In addition, there are two oversized folders in a shared personal collections oversized box containing scrapbooks of clippings featuring a variety of Hillel activities.